Toronto Mayor John Tory told reporters Wednesday that all three levels of government, including the provincial government of long-time political rival Doug Ford, are committed to tackling the issue of gun violence in Toronto.

Toronto Mayor John Tory outlined a number of community intervention and prevention measures to fight gun and gang violence in the city on Wednesday.

The initiatives, $12 million in total which will be funded in part by the federal government, offer support to families and victims impacted by violence and target youths most susceptible to entering a life of crime.

“Nobody is born bad. No person in the world is born bad. No child is born bad,” Tory said during a news conference Wednesday morning.

Tory said the community programs expansion includes doubling the size of the city’s community crisis response program from four staff to eight to help neighbourhoods and families cope with violence, adding more youth violence prevention staff to work with youth, and creating more job opportunities.

“I believe that these kinds of investments, made in areas that are marginalized for a variety of reasons, are going to help keep kids, who might for one reason or another, be tempted to stray off a course,” Tory said.

The mayor said there will also be more job fairs in marginalized communities, and Toronto Community Housing will hire an additional 50 young people this summer.

Tory said various social services will see an influx of cash, as the city has applied for grants from the National Crime Prevention Funds and municipal funds will fill in the rest.

The announcement comes less than a week after the mayor said $15 million from all three levels of government was earmarked for efforts to curb gun violence, including programs aimed at preventing youth from joining gangs.

The rise in the number of shootings in Toronto this year prompted the mother of three young girls, who were shot at a playground earlier this summer, to join community advocates in pleading for action.